Sunday, 21 December 2014

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey (The 5th Wave #2): Review

For Cassie Sullivan and the rest of Earth’s remaining human survivors, the situation was already desperate when the 5th Wave hit. It’s about to get worse.No one yet knows the depths to which Earth’s conquerors—the Others—will sink in order to rid the Earth of the human infestation, nor have they guessed the heights to which the human spirit can reach. Characters introduced in Book One will come to the fore—and others will face the ultimate test.Readers will watch in awe as the Others give their answer to Cassie’s defiance.

I recently reviewed The 5th Wave, which I'd put off reading for so long because of the hype, and I quite enjoyed it. I wasn't entirely won over and didn't think it lived up to the massive hype surrounding it. It was an okay read and series starter, but nothing special. My biggest issue with the book had been Cassie and Evan. She became weak and annoying once he showed up, and he was just really creepy. But the story was intriguing enough that it kept me reading, I wanted to know what the deal was with the aliens so I had to continue. I also had hopes that book two would be better, I'd heard a lot of good things.

After finishing The Infinite Sea, I'm really hoping that this is a case of Middle Book Syndrome and that book three will be a lot better. I was not a big fan of this book, I enjoyed it a whole lot less than The 5th Wave. It's a hard book to review because it was such a bumpy ride, there were moments where I was really bored and others where I struggled to put it down. But, if I am completely honest, by the end of the book I was kind of hoping the aliens would hurry up and win. I was bored and I wanted this over with.

Where I was hoping for good action and answers, I mostly got boredom and confusion. Rick Yancey would provide some answers, only for a plot twist to reveal those weren't the real answers. There were some really slow moments where I was tempted to put the book down. During the first half there would be a handful of action scenes, but they felt a little pointless. I was also struggling with the fact that Cassie was still driving me crazy and the romance aspect is just all wrong.

There was also a part of this book where I suddenly switched to the alien side and was all for the extermination of the entire human race. Someone in the book likened it to buying a new house with a rat infestation, you'd want to exterminate all the rats before moving in. We're the rats and Earth is the house. At that point I had to agree with the aliens, if that was what they were doing then I could not blame them. DEATH TO THE HUMANS!

I was all for giving up on this book before we reached Ringer's part. She saved this book for me, I was about ready to DNF before that. I think it was the fact I got to leave Cassie and my most hated character behind, I can't stand those two in this book. It's also that her section had more going on and introduced a great character. I just wish it hadn't ended in complete confusion, frustration and my head hurting from trying to figure out what the hell is actually going on.

3/5 Butterflies

I've been trying harder lately to not use half stars, I'm either rounding up or down. I have to for Goodreads anyway, so I might as well work on it for the blog. I didn't think this was bad enough to get a 2, but it definitely wasn't the sequel I was hoping for. It was very slow going for most of the book, and the character I really despise just won't die! I have my fingers crossed for book three, but that bastard seems able to survive anything and everything. This one was bogged down with far too much God talk, people holed up in buildings and supposed answers just raising more questions. Book three would have to do a lot to rescue this series for me.

28 comments:

I have to agree, this just wasn't a good sequel, such a bad bad sequel, and Ringer didn't even redeem it for me, I just - I don't think I can take the finale, it'll either me amazeballs or it'll be so so so bad and I'll hang this series up to dry, I cannot. But your review, my feels exactly! That romance is just - I'm noping out of here! Great review :D

I'm with you on this one. It was kind of boring and REALLY confusing. It was super short, too, so it felt like a novella since not much happened. It was a bunch of filler. I really hope book three is better. I loved The 5th Wave, but The Infinite Sea was just...meh. I almost didn't read it because of the first few pages. That whole "bomb in the toddler" thing was disturbing. I pushed on and saw that it connected to something that happened later. Yes, Ringer saved this book, but I'm still pretty confused about a few things. Are there actually any aliens at all? Or are there some, but they "made" others that aren't really aliens but they're like Ringer is now. Oh, I'm still confused. I'm still going to read the final book, but mostly out of hope (that it'll be better) and because I want to figure out what the heck is going on!

It was mostly just filler to me to. But for such a short book, it felt so long when I was reading it. I really did enjoy The 5th Wave, but the sequel has really put me off the series. I don't know if I am going to read the last book yet.

I haven't actually read this book series yet. I've put it off for months, even though I've had it on my TBR for quite some time now. I just don't seem so drawn to the story despite all the hype. But I'll probably get to this soon. It sucks tho about the Middle Book Syndrome. I hope the next book is better for you. Great review! :)

I've heard reviews very similar to yours in that people are being let down by this book. I read and really loved the first book after reading it, but over time I realized it wasn't as good as I made it out to be in my head. That being said, I'm still really interested in the series, and am disappoint to hear this neutrality/dislike among the blogosphere. I've kept from picking it up yet since I'm not really sure if I'll continue or not...

I think it didn't help that I wasn't the biggest fan of book one either. I enjoyed book one, but I didn't think it lived up to the huge hype surrounding it. Book two just disappointed me because I found it quite boring. I'm also not loving many of the characters, which doesn't help. I'm all for the aliens winning at this point.

I missed the action from book one as well, and Cassie pining over Evan was a deal breaker for me as well. It was just so long and drawn out and she wouldn't stop whining. Thank goodness for Ringer, although at the beginning I couldn't remember exactly who she was. Mass confusion with the names and nicknames let me tell you. Sorry it couldn't have lived up to book one, but I hope you continue on with the series. I have a feeling the finale will be epic.

The pining was just more than I could handle. I thought book one was okay, but I didn't love it or think it lived up to the hype. But it was an okay read and good start to a series. Book two just left me really bored. Ringer's section just managed to bring in a change of scenery and some more action. But not much. I might continue the series, but I'm rather nervous about it.

I have heard a lot of good reviews about the series. I still yet have to read the first book, but I have lots of books that I have to read. Hopefully I will start the series soon. Thanks for posting.Eduardo @ BoomingBooks

Oh nooo... I've been looking forward to this because I was hoping that it'll be better than the first book. Now, I feel like totally skipping it. Will it be just a waste of time? Or maybe I should just wait for book 3 to come out. What do you think? - Joy @ The Bookshelf Intruder

I don't know, to be honest it's put me off trying book three. But if I had read it when book three was out then I probably would have continued, just to see what happens next. So maybe it's worth waiting.

I have also seen some reviews like yours, and although I understand where people are coming from, I disagree. One of the things I liked best about it was that I was rooting for the aliens a lot of the time. I just thought it's really impressive that a book would get me to root against my own species. But I do understand it might not be for everybody, since it's a much more psychologically driven, rather than action packed, book. I enjoyed your review, though. I like reading different points of view :)

I like that you loved this one and rooted for the aliens. I was kind of rooting for them too, especially in the hopes they would kill off all the characters I hated. But I don't know if you're supposed to feel that. I don't know, my main issue with the book was that I found it really boring. I wouldn't have minded a slower pace if I'd felt we got great character development but we didn't even get that. I really wish I'd love it though. Hopefully book three works better for me.

I feel like I'm one of the people that actually enjoyed the sequel haha! I liked it and I enjoyed learning about the other characters' backgrounds. I was also EXTREMELY confused by the ending, but I think the author did that on purpose. I hope the third book will be even better, though! :) Fantastic review! <3

I'm happy to find people who loved it because I know most people did enjoy this one. It just didn't work for me the way I'd hoped it would. I think the characters had a lot to do with that though, I've fallen out of love with quite a few of them. Fingers crossed book three is epic! :)

I agree with you about this book, it definitely had Middle Book Syndrome. When I thought about it, really, nothing happened. It felt like the plot didn't move forward much at all. A lot of filler. Actually, I didn't like the switch to Ringer. Hopefully the next book will be better. ~Pam

It was so much filler and not enough of... anything. I just wanted more to happen. And if we couldn't have action then I should have at least have gotten some great character development. But, nope, nothing.

It makes sense to be avoiding those point five ratings. When I do them and then go to Goodreads, I always round down. Cruel? Maybe, but it works I guess :P I almost picked up the 5th Wave in the bookstore but swapped it out for another read. I'm sorry you didn't like this one as much as the others, and I hope the finale is better. Glad to know your least liked character is behind you now, though.

Ugh! As I mentioned I hate The 5th Wave so I was never going to continue on with the series. Your review definitely solidifies a lot wrong with these books. I assume you will continue on. Is it going to be a trilogy or series? I hope a trilogy for your sake. Good luck! :/Happy reading!Brittany @ This is the Story of My(Reading) Life

I don't know if I want to continue. This book really disappointed me and I don't feel much for any of the characters. I'm not concerned about what happens to any of them. They could all die and I probably wouldn't even blink, so that's not a good sign. I might read book three, but I'm undecided right now.

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